Pat Laliberte starts work at 4 a.m., climbing into the truck and driving the water wherever it’s needed.

His company, KDM Constructors, is contracted to haul water and help with construction at the BHP Jansen potash mine east of Saskatoon.

KDM Constructors is a unique partnership that’s creating jobs and wealth for First Nations people. Laliberte has worked on job sites across Saskatchewan and Alberta, but the Canoe Lake Cree Nation band member said working for a First Nations-controlled company means a lot to him.

“You know, we’re not just good looking and stuff like that. We’ve got brains, too,” Laliberte said with a laugh. “Given the opportunity, everyone benefits.”

KDM is a joint venture between three First Nations — Kawakatoose, Day Star and Muskowekwan — and the Saskatchewan-based SECON Group of Companies. It was established a few years ago and has already grown to 70 employees.

Saskatchewan companies have been partnering with Indigenous communities for years.

As longtime Muskowekwan Chief Reg Bellerose noted, the original links were established in the treaties when settlers and Indigenous people agreed to share the land, water and resources of the territory that would become Saskatchewan.

In many cases, those treaties were not honoured. For decades, First Nations people were barred from participating in the mainstream economy, requiring permission to go off-reserve to work or sell their farm produce.

But the creation of institutions such as the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology has produced hundreds of skilled workers.

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